Piedmont means 'at the foot of the mountains', and that is exactly the shape of it: Alps on three sides, then a plain of rice fields, then the vine-striped hills of the Langhe and Monferrato. Turin, the first capital of unified Italy, is a city of arcaded boulevards, baroque royal palaces, the Egyptian Museum — second only to Cairo's — and the Mole Antonelliana. South of it, Alba's white truffle market and the Barolo and Barbaresco villages make this Italy's most serious food-and-wine region, and the birthplace of Slow Food.
- Turin — Egyptian Museum, Mole Antonelliana, Royal Palace
- The Langhe: Barolo, Barbaresco and Alba's white truffles
- Sacra di San Michele
- Lake Maggiore and the Borromean Islands
- Reggia di Venaria Reale
- Best time to go
- September–November for the truffle season and the vineyard colour; April–June for the city and the lakes. Turin is a genuinely good winter city.
- Getting there
- Turin Caselle airport; Milan Malpensa is often cheaper and 1h45 by coach. Turin Porta Susa is on the high-speed line — 1h from Milan, 4h from Rome.
© OpenFreeMap · OSM · terrain Mapterhorn · boundaries © EuroGeographics (Eurostat GISCO)
Headline places
What italia.it leads with in Piedmont.
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Langhe, Barolo & Barbaresco UNESCO vineyard hills, the white truffle capital, and Italy's greatest reds -
Museo Egizio, Turin The oldest Egyptian museum in the world, and the largest outside Cairo -
Mole Antonelliana Turin's 167-metre landmark, now the National Cinema Museum -
Reggia di Venaria Reale A Savoy hunting palace the size of a town, restored after decades as a barracks -
Sacra di San Michele An abbey built onto a rock spike above the Val di Susa — Piedmont's symbol -
Lake Maggiore & Stresa Belle-époque hotels facing the Borromean Islands -
Lake Orta & Orta San Giulio The smallest and quietest of the great lakes, with a monastery island
Cities & bases
Where to sleep, and what each place is good for.
Islands
Our guides
Full destination guides we already publish in this region.
Piedmont by experience
The themes this region delivers on.
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Art & culture More UNESCO World Heritage sites than any other country on earth -
Food & wine Regional to the point of parochial — and all the better for it -
Italian lakes Como, Garda, Maggiore — the Grand Tour's original destination -
UNESCO Italy Sixty World Heritage sites — the largest tally of any country -
Borghi & villages The hill towns that carry I Borghi più belli d'Italia and the Orange Flag -
Spirituality & pilgrimage Rome, Assisi, and the pilgrim roads that connect them -
Shopping & markets Milan's Quadrilatero, Florence's leather and the weekly market habit -
Events & festivals The Palio, Carnevale, the Biennale and an opera season in a Roman arena -
Luxury Italy Portofino, the Costa Smeralda, Capri and the great lake villas
More of The North
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Aosta Valley Italy's smallest region, under the four highest mountains in the Alps -
Liguria The Italian Riviera — Cinque Terre, Portofino and pesto's home port -
Lombardy Milan, the great lakes and the Alps of Valtellina -
South Tyrol German-speaking Italy under the Dolomites -
Trentino Dolomite valleys, Lake Garda's northern tip and Italy's alpine lakes -
Veneto Venice, Verona, Palladio's villas and the Dolomites of Cortina -
Friuli Venezia Giulia Habsburg Trieste, Roman Aquileia and Italy's finest white wines -
Emilia-Romagna Parmigiano, prosciutto, Ferrari and Ravenna's mosaics